Rosslyn Chapel

With the glorious sunshine we’ve had over the last few days, getting as much time outside (wearing lots of suncream) has been essential. Sadly I’ve been working most of the time, but Thursday was my day off so I had to make the most of it. I dropped my car off for a service first thing and had a few hours to kill before I had to pick it up again so my guy suggested a trip up to Rosslyn Chapel. He definitely has some good ideas!

After a quick stop at the shop to pick up some factor 30 we were off. We hadn’t actually planned on going inside the chapel, we were just going to go for a walk and enjoy the sunshine. But we hadn’t realised how small the grounds were and you had to pay to get in and close to the chapel. We decided to pay the £9 adult entry (£7 for concessions), after all we had plenty of time to kill.

Entry paid, we walked through the visitor centre and straight into the chapel where a member of staff was half way through a talk on its history. Full of interesting facts and some stories that may or may not be true, I picked up a tourist leaflet to find out what we’d missed.

The masonry, carvings and stained glass windows are so beautiful! You are not allowed to take photos inside the chapel so I suggest you head along to check it out for yourself. Once you’ve taken in the detail in the chapel head down some steep stairs to the crypt.

We definitely made the right choice heading inside first, as there was a bus full of tourists not far behind us and it was about to get rather crowded as we headed out to enjoy the grounds.

The chapel now sits is quite a small plot of land, but it has some stunning views out over the countryside and I would imagine the walking paths are definitely worth a trip. We’ll be heading back at some point to check them out.

We took our time wandering around the grounds, trying to get a few snaps of the outside, while avoiding getting the bus full of tourists in every shot. It meant a lot of stop start but hey thats ok, in fact it was great. Some time to chat and repeatedly comment on how its such a shame they never finished the other half of the chapel but also how incredibly talented masons were and why is that a dead art??

Seriously, I doubt anyone now could produce the arches, columns and carvings with the same detail as they did back in 1446.

We both find old buildings incredibly fascinating, but if that isn’t your thing you can use the chapel as a starting point for a good countryside walk. Or if you have out of town visitors, take them there while you sit in the cafe with a coffee and enjoy the views out over the fields.

Just as we finished up our wander round the grounds and visitor centre the garage called to let me know my car was ready, so that meant it was time to head back. Not before a quick stroll down one of the pathways just outside the chapel grounds. It was the start of the trail that leads to Rosslyn Castle; one for next time I think!

Have you been? is it worth the trip back? let me know what you think if you’ve been and if you haven’t well I definitely recommend a a visit to the chapel!